This was evident in how the BJP swept Bombay Karnataka and Central Karnataka regions dominated by Lingayats. In Hyderabad Karnataka too, the BJP improved its tally from 10 to 15, though the Congress still retained a lead with 21 out of 40 seats. Though the Congress was not very optimistic of its impact on Lingayat voters, insiders had indicated that they were hoping for a 5% swing in the vote share. An important marker of this was that three of the four prominent Lingayat Ministers in the Siddaramaiah Cabinet, who led the movement — Vinay Kulkarni, Basavaraj Rayaraddi and Sharan Prakash Patil — lost badly. This despite vociferous attempts by Veerashaiva seers to defeat him.

Source: The Hindu May 15, 2018 17:10 UTC